Best Pheasant/Grouse/Family Dog

[johnnycake]

As it should but if some one put the time in it could be average. Just the same as the versatile dog is over whelmed when it comes to retrieving any thing past a minor stake.

Having seen a few labs try, I have my doubts. But my pudelpointer does well enough at NAHRA training days to catch a lot of attention and surprise when we go.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I raised griffons since 1970. Shop carefully! Try to match the personaliy of the breed to yours. There are many breeds to pick from that will meet your wants. Within each of those breeds there will a range of personalities from - needs a tranquilizer to barely awake. Look carefully at the sire and dam - thats what you are going to get. You won't even know what their adult coat will be until they are two.

Hell - shopping is half the fun. You might even watch a puppy out of a breeding and then buy out of a later breeding.

Out of one of my last litters many of my friends passed on one pup. They said he was lazy, fuzzy ,too slow. He was sold to a gent that had purchased a pup out of a breeding 15 years before. We got together two years later. "Fuzzy" had a tight coat was bigger and was clearly the best dog in the litter. All had the same breeding.

 

[WRO]

I haven't owned an english but my gordon......is a special dog lol. I feel like our next might be a little easier after going through the first. But ornery would be one of the first words I would use to describe Griffey.

I'm split on the next dog, either another Gordon or trying to find a good field Irish.

I have a half english/half gordon girl I'll be selling as a started dog in July.

She's a rockstar.

She'll be Kennel trained, house broke, gun broke, collar conditioned, and has been exposed to wild birds since she was 10 weeks old and on pigeons since 6 weeks.

 

[WRO]

As there should not be. Im not a pointing lab fan if i want a pointer im getting a pointer. Your last sentence is spot on.

They're the Katlynn Jenner of pointing dogs.

 

[KurtR]

Not seeing a breed pass a retriever test has little bearing on them being a good hunting dog. Or a good retriever for that matter. I know a lot of people with fantastic versatile dogs. They would zero interest to enter into a retriever test. You seem to be focused on one very specific bar to which you measure dogs against. I can also insure you Germans take retrieving of shot game more seriously than 99% of American hunters I’ve met.

Also, the OP isn’t looking for a waterfowl dog, or a dog to play retriever games.

My point of contention comes from saying they are smarter than labs and thinking they retrieve as good. I guided pheasant hunters for 15 years averaging 3000 birds a year killed with many hundreds of sharp tails. I have got to see them all. The versatile dogs were ok at it all but the pointers pointed better and the retrievers retrieved better. The games be it retrieving ,pointing or the navda type are a measuring stick that isn’t just conjecture. I have heard the my dog is a great hunting dog line way to many times as they break on every bird or run back and forth clearing a whole field 100 yards ahead.

 

[WRO]

My point of contention comes from saying they are smarter than labs and thinking they retrieve as good. I guided pheasant hunters for 15 years averaging 3000 birds a year killed with many hundreds of sharp tails. I have got to see them all. The versatile dogs were ok at it all but the pointers pointed better and the retrievers retrieved better. The games be it retrieving ,pointing or the navda type are a measuring stick that isn’t just conjecture. I have heard the my dog is a great hunting dog line way to many times as they break on every bird or run back and forth clearing a whole field 100 yards ahead.

The guys who have the best dogs, generally don't tell you.

The guys who tell you they have the best dogs, generally don't.

My dogs aren't the best, they have all have holes in them and are young.

 

[KurtR]

Having seen a few labs try, I have my doubts. But my pudelpointer does well enough at NAHRA training days to catch a lot of attention and surprise when we go.

That’s what your dog is bred to do.

 

[KurtR]

The guys who have the best dogs, generally don't tell you.

The guys who tell you they have the best dogs, generally don't.

My dogs aren't the best, they have all have holes in them and are young.

As soon as you start bragging on them they will be a dog doing dog shit. Anyone who is honest will always find room for improvement.

 

[WRO]

As soon as you start bragging on them they will be a dog doing dog shit. Anyone who is honest will always find room for improvement.

I had a Chesapeake that had 500 ducks and geese under his belt hump a full body goose decoy while I was bragging about him.

 

[Dos Perros]

If you want to kill birds and look good, get a pointer. If you want to kill birds and look good and have a better family dog, get a setter. If you want to kill birds and have a better family dog, and don't care what it looks like, get a brittany.

Folks throwing out versatile breeds: he's not hunting ducks.

 

[johnnycake]

That’s what your dog is bred to do.

NAHRA is for retrievers but, yes, she was bred to retrieve among other things

 

[johnnycake]

I agree with what your saying spur60. My wife mentioned the other day that we should spend a little extra and get a starter pup as well. I have also been thinking about a female Drathaar or shorthair as I dont need a 90lb lab anymore. I'm not a fan of Vislas, I know a couple people with them and there ornery.

Folks throwing out versatile breeds: he's not hunting ducks.

Versatile breeds came up from the OP, otherwise I wouldn't have chimed in.

The nice thing about dogs is that you rarely hear somebody say they regret getting whatever pup they ended up taking home.

 

[Buzby]

My point of contention comes from saying they are smarter than labs and thinking they retrieve as good. I guided pheasant hunters for 15 years averaging 3000 birds a year killed with many hundreds of sharp tails. I have got to see them all. The versatile dogs were ok at it all but the pointers pointed better and the retrievers retrieved better. The games be it retrieving ,pointing or the navda type are a measuring stick that isn’t just conjecture. I have heard the my dog is a great hunting dog line way to many times as they break on every bird or run back and forth clearing a whole field 100 yards ahead.

Of course the pointer will point better, and the retrievers will retrieve better. I don’t see anyone here saying otherwise.

For most hunters (not competitions or guiding) a well trained versatile dog will do 90% of what both of those dogs specialize in. I’ll happily give up 10% in every category, and still have a dog that is able to perform in every category, many of which the specialty dogs can’t. Like I said, it’s not for everyone.

Most people don’t need to do 400yd blind retrieves daily. Hell, most labs won’t.

The problem with a lot of versatile breeds is their increased popularity. Part of it is breeding dogs that don’t have all the necessary traits, just to meet demand. The other part is training. Everyone wants to do versatile dog shit, until it’s time to train their dog. This is the majority of versatile (all) breed owners I’ve meet. They’re not setup out of the box like a lab. It takes a good bit of effort to train a dog to do well in multiple tasks.

 

[Dos Perros]

A versatile is not even close to 90% of a well bred pointer, setter, or even brittany. You'll have more variation than that within a litter. Across breeds will be even more, obviously.

 

[PAPAROD]

Ya, I will not be doing any hunt test or contest. I don't waterfowl hunt anymore as I prefer to walk around and chase pheasants after work or grouse on the weekends. I don't have a problem working/ training a pup along side of my 2 and 5 year old kids. But like I mentioned before my wife doesn't want a dog that sheds or smells as much as a lab does (oily coat) since it lives in the house with us. We have a couple acres of yard so im not worried about space to exercise them. I have to uncles with wire hairs and 1 is great and the other listens about as good as he does but that goes back to one living with them and one living in a kennel. We have short hairs and lab/ short hair mix that are pretty decent but training could be better. My lab by far is the most obedient but I assume thats due to time spent training together. I'm very much intrigued by having a mid size pointer type dog especially for grouse. Another uncle of mine has a Cesky Fousek, which seems to do very well. I know there are alot of thoughts here on breed but for someone looking to get into there first pointer is there one that perhaps trains easier than others?

 

[PAPAROD]

I've never hunted with a Brittany or Setters.

 

[WRO]

 

[Buzby]

A versatile is not even close to 90% of a well bred pointer, setter, or even brittany. You'll have more variation than that within a litter. Across breeds will be even more, obviously.

I’m not sure the quality of versatiles you’ve hunted with. Experiences will very. That has not been mine

 

[Zak406]

You can’t go wrong with a gsp I am 32 and have had 3 now (two currently). I will admit though I have a fascination with the pudel pointer and may end up with one for my next dog.

 

[WRO]

I’m not sure the quality of versatiles you’ve hunted with. Experiences will very. That has not been mine

I’ve been around some that are really good upland dogs, but meh waterfowl and Vice versa, never one that really excels at both.


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